Breastaurant backlash: Did Bikinis boss make a boob of himself on national TV?

Breastaurant backlash: Did Bikinis boss make boob of himself on TV?

Doug Guller is facing backlash after a controversial appearance on Undercover Boss.
Iltasanomat.fi

Well, Doug Guller did say he loves controversy. On Sunday night, CBS aired an episode of Undercover Boss featuring the Austin-based CEO of Bikinis Bar & Grill, a sports bar that hires "Bikini Babes" and gives them a work uniform consisting of a bikini top, jean shorts and cowboy boots.

During the episode, Guller donned a disguise to infiltrate his "breastaurant" empire and find out what really goes on behind the scenes. After revealing his true identity, Guller fires a woman for not wearing a bikini top on camera and offers to get another employee breast implants if she continues to work for another six months. The Internet is not amused.

Reading about @CBS#UndercoverBoss fiasco, I've come to the sad realization that hate-watching viewers are a target metric now.

Members of the media were just as outraged. On Jezebel, Rebecca Rose says, "This was a bad episode unleashing a bunch of unchecked bullshit on a viewing audience that (judging by fans' reactions on Twitter) didn't want it. If there's a silver lining, it's that this level of blatant sexism no longer seems widely appreciated."

After calling Guller "an entrepreneur who craves attention," The Washington Postwrites, "this was an episode made for controversy. And mission accomplished."

Mic took a decidedly different approach to its coverage. Rather than dissect the episode, writer Marcie Bianco analyzes the use of sexist practices in business. "The episode's biggest reveal was the extent to which overt sexism continues to goes hand-in-hand with capitalism," she writes. Guller's idea isn't novel, Bianco argues. Instead, she points the prevalence of sex and objectification in selling everything from Arby's sandwiches to Carl's Jr. burgers.

As for Guller, who also owns such Austin locales as the Historic Scoot Inn, The Parish, Pelons (oh, and who once bought an entire town and renamed it Bikinis, Texas), he seems to be taking the controversy in stride.